Friends with a mortal
by Kattikit
Summary: Thousands of years ago, a great evil was defeated. Now, as another evil rises Professor Dumbledore calls to one of the last who remember what happened. Legolas never knew what hit him. LOTR HP crossover. Now AU.
1. The Last of the Fellowship

I know, I know. I really should be writing my other fic. But this plot bunny has been bothering me for ages, so I thought I'd finally get down to doing it. The other one _will _be updated, I just need a little encouragement very bad hint going on here. Oh yeah, spoilers for HP book 5 (cos Rowling hasn't gotten the next stupid book out – grrrrrrrrr) and anything in LOTR. Enjoy the fic!

"speech" 'thoughts' --elvish--

Minas Tirith, Gondor, Middle Earth

Third age, year 3020

Precisely 1 year after the wedding of King Elessar and Arwen

As the sun set over the land of Gondor, its king and his wife were sitting down to a quiet, private meal. The sounds of the banquet bellow could clearly be heard all around, and yet the king and queen wished for nothing more than to spend mid-years day, as well as their first wedding anniversary, alone so they could quietly reflect on their lives up until this point.

It was Aragorn who was the first to break the silence. "Did you hear Mithrandir's news? Samwise Gamgee has finally got married to Rosie Cotton."

"He is a lucky man," replied the queen gently

"I wish that Mithrandir could have stayed for longer though, and given us some more news of the Shire. It would have been nice for him to be here to celebrate the passing year with us."

"Ah," replied the queen Arwen, a smile gracing her lips "But how would we ever have been able to keep him here for that long. After all, if he had stayed here for too long, then his precious supply of pipeweed may have run out, and even you know better than to get between that particular wizard and his weed."

"He is addicted! I may like to have the occasional smoke, every now and again," at this Arwen made a most unelvish noise, which Aragorn promptly ignored "but even I do not go to the extremes to which he seems to go to in order to receive a constant supply."

"Well I have known him for many more years than you, and I can safely say that he is never seen without his pipe. And I would really not like to see you try to take it off him."

"And why not?" said Aragorn, believing his wife to be taking the wizard's side in this matter.

Arwen leaned towards Aragorn and said quietly, as if divulging a massive secret. "Because I would be most displeased to have to oversee your guards cleaning your remains off our walls. The stains would never come off the tapestries."

Aragorn let out a raucous laugh, which threatened to go on for an age before settling down, and finally speaking "But it would be nice if at least one of my old companions would come for a visit some time. It would be a welcome treat indeed to see one of the hobbits, or even Gimli and Legolas."

There was a timid knock on the grand doors.

"Enter," Aragorn said, wondering what was so important that their private meal was being disturbed.

"My lord," one of the heralds said upon entering the hall and bowing. "There are two visitors here to see you. Should I tell them to come back later?"

"Who are they?"

"Prince Legolas of Mirkwood and Gimli son of Gloin."

Aragorn muttered something in Elvish so quietly that Arwen could barely hear him, something which could be roughly translated into modern English as "Speak of the devil". Nevertheless he sat visibly straighter in his chair at these words, just as Arwen rolled her eyes. Well at least they are not the hobbits Arwen thought to herself They cause more trouble than an entire council. At least these two only bicker. Arwen smiled: they might argue a lot about everything, but they were good friends despite their differences, however far down.

"Please show them in."

The herald bowed again, and backed himself out of the room, only to return a moment later with the two individuals he had spoken of. Aragorn quickly stood up, his wife following his example, and he held his arms open as he spoke.

"Come in," he said, beckoning them to sit with him "There is plenty of room at out table."

The elf and the dwarf came up to stand before Aragorn, and both briefly exchanged the formal greetings of their kind, before dispensing with the formalities ad settling for greetings more appropriate for friends than lords of their people.

"You must sit and eat, and regale us with tales of your adventures in the few months since we last parted. The last thing that I knew was that the two of you were going first to the glittering caves, and then on to the dark forest of Fangorn. Surely you have not completed your mission so soon."

Legolas looked into that honest and happy face. 'Kingship is obviously suiting him. I am very glad of it.' Legolas thought before continuing, not willing to disrupt Aragorn's pleasure at seeing the two of them. He started to speak, but the way that both he and Gimli continued standing alarmed Aragorn to the fact that they probably would not be staying as long as he had hoped.

"We did indeed make it as far as the glittering caves..."

"And what were your thoughts of them?" Arwen broke in suddenly, surprising all.

Legolas turned to Arwen startled "They were to be sure as beautiful as they had been described to me, milady. But...let me just say that I still feel that a cave is no place for an elf, especially this one."

"Humph," declared Gimli at this. "Just like a stuck-up elf not to admit to your true feelings. Cummon, we all know you loved them really."

Legolas apparently thought that now was a good time to bring the subject back to what it should have been, for the next thing he said was "After we were finished there I was led towards the home of Gimli, where I was welcomed. Despite the prejudice of many of the elders, and my father's actions little over sixty years ago. It would seem that many of the younger dwarves are much more liberal minded when it comes to the elven race."

"Of course they were, of course they were. Especially when they realised that their dear old uncle Gimli would remove their bodies from their stubborn little heads if they didn't at least _try_ to be nice. That kind of thing does tend to attract everyone's co-operation."

"...and by that time our rations had all but run out..."

"Only because that idiot was so foolhardy as to drop it all in the river last night when he was boasting about how good his balance was on a piece of thin string held taught to breaking point over a raging river."

Arwen groaned inwardly. Some things never change. Was it too late to take back her statement about the hobbits?

"You made me fall in! I was drenched."

"Well at least I proved that your balance is not so good after all, heh."

"And why do you not try to balance on a rope that has just been cut in half! I think you will find balancing on a non-existent rope to be quite difficult."

"I suppose you would like to get to the point before this mere mortal dies of laughter." Aragorn choked out between guffaws. This was exactly what he had been looking forward to.

"Anyway," Legolas glared at the dwarf before continuing. "Since this was the nearest settlement we felt that we might as well come here for fresh supplies. But I regret to inform you that we do not intend to stay the night, and we have already received everything we need to complete out travels."

"Aye, and we just thought we'd come and say hello to you and your lady friend. We plan to leave in the next hour." Gimli finished for his friend. Aragorn bowed his head, his fears confirmed.

"Dou you know when you will return?" He asked, still hopeful that they would not be as long as they had been before. He was dying to hear some proper stories of adventure, and as his duties to Gondor prevented him from following one of his own, at least his friends could keep him entertained with their stories.

"A mere matter of months. Only however long it takes to journey to Mirkwood, from there to Fangorn and then back, allowing for perhaps a month spent in my fathers halls and under the various trees."

"Don't ye worry laddie, we'll be back before you know it. I for one have no intention of spending any more time than is necessary in the _forests_." Gimli spat out.

"I see that you have extended the same courtesy to Gimli as he did to you." Aragorn said to Legolas, surprised.

"Aye," said Gimli "But I only agreed because he threatened to tell the lady Galadriel what I said about her when he next saw her." To Aragorn's look he added "What! I was drunk!"

Aragorn smiled at the thought of Gimli spending time amongst the elves of Mirkwood, he could only imagine what the dwarf had been saying. Confessing his love for her and saying that maybe elves weren't so bad after all perhaps? Or maybe just a wish to kill her husband, Celeborn. "Well I wish you a safe and swift journey."

"Namárië Estel" Legolas bowed.

"Namárië Legolas"

"And the same to you too," huffed Gimli, upset at being left out of even a fraction of the conversation.

"Fare thee well Gimli. May your beard grow ever longer."

"Now _those_ are words I can understand." He turned and started to leave. "Come on elf. Let us get this over with." And with that, and a pleading look from Legolas to Aragorn, they were gone.

The doors slammed shut, and the remaining couple sat back down to quietly finish their meal.

"I am sure that they will return soon with no more than a few bruises. And that will only be from pushing each other out of trees or into lakes. The evil holds sway over this world no longer."

"Yes, you are probably right my dear." Aragorn looked into his wife's eyes, grateful for the reassurance he desperately needed to hear. "But I still cannot quell the feeling that something terrible will happen. Something I do not think that someone will not live to regret."

* * *

Legolas was in high spirits. They had been making very good time indeed, and they had yet to meet any creature with ill will against them. Also they had just passed the first trees, which marked the border of Mirkwood. Somewhere down below him Gimli was shouting for him to come down, but he couldn't. He had not been in this forest, not felt its presence for almost three years, and however short that had been in elven years, he could not help but be overjoyed. He could feel the trees celebrating his return, and he knew it would only be a matter of minutes before an elf listening to the trees heard the news, and very soon there would not be an elf in Mirkwood who didn't know that their only prince had returned. It was very hard to sneak home when the whole forest tells of your arrival.

What made his return feel even better was the absence of its evil. Neither he nor the trees felt the evil presence of Dol Guldur any more, and the forest was celebrating.

"You stupid, half-witted elf." Gimli shouted up into the leaves above "Get down from there this instant before you get yourself killed."

Before he even finished his sentence Legolas suddenly appeared in front of him, as if by magic. "And how do you intend to keep me down here? It has been too long since I have been between these leaves, not even you can deny me of this pleasure now." He made to return to the branches high above, much higher than Gimli could climb even if he had tried his hardest. Gimli seemed to ponder hard about something, and even fight a battle within him, before blurting out

"Wait."

Legolas stopped and faced Gimli, one eyebrow raised, looking forward to hearing what the dwarf had to say.

"Teach me Elvish."

Lips quirking with unspoken laughter, Legolas was nonetheless extremely startled by this request.

"What?"

"You heard me! Anything would be better than listening to you prancing up above me."

"I was not prancing. And even if I was you could never have heard me. I am a wood elf." He said this as if it explained everything. "Not a clumsy elf from Rivendale. And I doubt you would have heard even them." Loyalties to his kingdom that he had not felt since council of Elrond were springing up as he came so close to his people.

"Teach me!"

"Sindarin or Quenya?"

Now it was Gimli's turn to look startled. "What?"

Legolas sighed. "There is no _one_ Elvish language. Sindarin and Quenya are two totally different languages." Yet again he spoke as if everyone should know these tiny details of elven culture, and it was getting on Gimli's nerves.

"Just teach me how to say a phrase so I do not have to put up with your mad dancing for five measly minutes!"

"If you really insist." --The forest of Mirkwood should have its previous title of 'Greenwood the Great' restored to it, as it is the most beautiful place in Middle Earth. Much better than my cramped, dark, wet caves.-- "Happy now?"

They had walked several miles before Gimli managed to master the complex, especially by dwarven standards, pronunciation, and had finally committed to his memory all off the phrase. Legolas had been trying his hardest not to show any signs of his inner laughter, and even he could not contain the signs of mirth shinning in his eyes. Luckily Gimli was too absorbed in his studies to notice, but when he finally managed to say the whole phrase in one go, and with such conviction, Legolas could not contain himself. He practically shrieked with laughter, making Gimli deeply suspicious. He turned round to face Legolas, drew his axe and growled, "What did you make me say." His friend was too overcome with laughter to stand up straight, let alone answer properly.

They were both so occupied with their banter, that neither of them noticed that their noise had attracted the attention of other creatures in the realm. The spiders, who were amazed not only that they had been able to get so close to an elf without being discovered, but also at the behaviour of the two, finally decided that they would be easy prey, and pounced upon the two below them.

Legolas heard the spiders when it was already too late. Silently berating himself for expecting there to be no signs of the spiders that had constantly terrorised the wood around his home since before he was born, he quickly drew and strung his bow, immediately firing arrow after arrow into the mass of spiders now all around him. Gimli was already hacking away at their legs and heads with his pre-drawn axe as soon as they came within his range. The two friends were fighting in their most effective manner, back to back as they had done so many times before, and the spiders soon saw that they could not get close to either one of them, despite their numbers. So they set about separating them.

'I should have been listening closer, paying more attention. If I had not been so intent on confusing Gimli then I would have noticed them long ago, and we would never have been forced into such close combat. If only...' Legolas' thoughts were interrupted by a dwarven cry far behind him, much further than it should have been, and he turned to see that he had been separated from Gimli, effectively cut off from his friend. He also saw that the aforesaid dwarf was in trouble.

"Gimli" Legolas cried out too late, for as he watched a spider behind the dwarf jumped towards him, and stabbed his victim in the back. Gimli continued fighting, but his wound slowed him down, and eventually he was dealt with a fatal wound. He collapsed onto the ground, and moved no more.

Legolas had been shooting arrows faster than the eye could see from the moment he heard Gimli's cry, desperately trying to close the large space between them. His arrows spent, he drew his twin blades and started slashing at the spiders, barely caring if they came close enough to poison him. When he saw Gimli fall he became, if it was possible, even more determined to kill every spider in his path. Eventually he made his way over, and he stood over Gimli, a dangerous glint in his eye while he faced his enemies, daring any one of them to come close. Surrounded on all sides with spiders, it was a moment before he noticed great patches of the spiders were dying, and it wasn't until the spider before him, just as it was about to attack, drop dead with an arrow between its eyes that he noticed that help had come at last. Hidden by the leaves above him were elves, clad in the green garb of the archers of Mirkwood. It did not take long for the practised elves to kill the remaining spiders, and soon there was not a live one left in the clearing.

As soon as the danger was past, Legolas dropped his weapons and fell to his knees beside Gimli. "You must be alive. You must. You can not die like this, not after everything that we have been through." He kept saying to himself, over and over as he checked for any signs of life. One of the warriors came forward to help his prince, but there was no doubt in his or anyone's mind that the dwarf was dead.

Legolas sobbed, tears running freely down his cheeks as he gathered Gimli up in his arms, cradling him as if the very action would bring him back.

"Gimli."

Well? Like? Hate? Want to disembowel me swiftly? At least tell me what you think so I know whether to hide or not :-D


	2. Decisions

Wow, a new record for me! I updated my fic in under 5 mins! Don't worry, I'm just trying to make up for making people wait MONTHS for my other one (which I swear on Legolas' and Daniel's lives I will finish, and I could never kill off those two) For now though, enjoy my promptness while it lasts! Oh, and I apologise for killing Gimli. But it wasn't me! Legolas made me do it!

Present Day

25 minutes after the events of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 36: The Only One He Ever Feared.

"So...You Know Who...he's actually returned?"

Cornelius Fudge had barely spoken in the last 25 minutes. With Harry Potter's disappearance from the room his last shred of conviction had gone, leaving him open mouthed at all of Dumbledore's tale. He had barely noticed as he was ushered into a small, private room with a long table and many seats. He had made no complaints as Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, with him taking a far more discreet seat at the back and a few of his most trusted ministers and two or three Aurors firing questions at the silver-haired wizard. But now, as he finally seemed to regain control of his muscles, he felt a strange sense of calm descend upon him, and he could not help but be relieved that he was not, momentarily, the one that everyone was seeking for answers.

"Indeed he has." Dumbledore said solemnly. "As you have all realised far too late. What we now have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

Silence followed this remark, broken only by the raspy coughing of one of the more elderly ministers.

"But how are we meant to defeat him again?" cried out Fudge at last, unable to bear the silence "We barely defeated him last time, and that was only due to luck."

"True," said Dumbledore, noting Fudge's use of 'we', "But history, as it is said, does repeat itself many times over, as Lord Voldemort..." the room flinched, "...may yet discover to his ruin." And for a brief moment it sounded like he started to talk to himself.

"What do you mean?" snapped Fudge, cross at Dumbledore's continued use of the Dark Lords name.

Dumbledore however did not seem to be listening, causing Fudge to feel even more angry.

"_Professor_ Dumbledore," he said, stressing the 'Professor', desperately needing to remind himself who was the more senior of the two, in rank if not anything else, "We are facing the largest threat to this planet ever. If there is something that may help, then I demand that you tell us."

Dumbledore looked up, his steady blue gaze meeting Fudge's wavering one. "This planet has faced worse threats than this, if not much worse. Evil was overcome then, and I am sure it will be again." Now he stood up as he continued top speak. "Now gentlemen, if you would excuse me, I have told you everything you need to know and then some. Your time is up. I must now return to my school." And with that he disappeared.

There was a momentary stillness in the room, before everyone turned to Fudge to bombard him with the inevitable torrent of questions. And all that the man in question could think as he let his head fall into his waiting arms was 'Why me?'

* * *

Thalion, High Councillor to King Legolas Thranduillion, was striding towards His Majesties bedchamber. He paused around the corner to straighten his robes, before walking up to the entrance. He nodded to the guards, who stepped aside to let him enter. He knocked sharply on the doorframe, and without waiting for an answer he walked right into the middle of the room.

"Good morning my..." he started cheerfully, before looking around the room.

Empty.

He rolled his eyes, only briefly so as not to show too much emotion, quickly checking that no one was under the bed or on the ceiling, before walking over to the wide glassless window. The weather was good for this part of the forest, he could even see some of the clear blue sky he knew was above, and the breeze was almost nonexistent. He knew where his king would be.

He cast a brief glance back towards the entrance to see if the two guards were trying to peek inside. On seeing that they were not, he shed off his official cloak and chucked it onto the floor, glad to be rid of it. He then climbed onto the window ledge and looked down. It wasn't that far, only around fifteen feet, so even if he fell, which he knew he wouldn't, he would not be badly hurt, and he had jumped above greater heights before. There were no handy vines by the wall, by order of the Captain of the Guard who had spent seemingly most of his life trying to stop the young Prince Legolas from climbing out of his window at night, so why should he stop just because his charge had become a king? However as Thalion knew this had never prevented any night-time expeditions. It had only stopped the Captain of the Guard from worrying about them.

For even though there was nothing near enough for an elfling or any ordinary elf to grab hold of, there was a sturdy branch hanging but a few metres above and the same distance away from the window, which any strong elf could grab if he propelled himself far enough through the air. Without thinking, and almost by instinct, Thalion did a standing jump, catching the branch with his fingertips. He used the momentum to swing himself upwards, until he was safe and sitting on the branch. Without pausing for breath, he stood upright, and ran off into the forest.

* * *

Dumbledore relaxed back into his chair. His meeting with Harry Potter went as well as could be expected, better perhaps. After all, he had just lost his godfather. A little bit of shouting and a few possessions destroyed was the least that he had been expecting. He was slightly surprised his office was still standing.

Just as he was thinking this, Phineas Nigellus crept back into his portrait. "I cannot believe it," he mumbled to himself, as if he was unaware that Dumbledore was even in the room. "The last member of the house of Black, gone. I mean," he said hurriedly as he realised that Dumbledore was staring at him, "It's not as if I ever liked the worthless man, he was my descendant."

"Phineas, please could you take one last message to someone for me tonight?" Dumbledore asked the distraught painting.

"Dead, dead, I don't believe it. it cant be. dead..." the portrait kept mumbling to himself. On realising that he was going to get no more sense out of Phineas for quite a while, he turned to the only remaining portrait that was both awake and, periodically, sane.

"Armando,"

Armando looked quite surprised at being spoken to, but finally managed to drawl out a "Yes Professor."

"Please could you go down to classroom eleven, and tell Firenze that I apologise for the inconvenience but could he please make it up to my office. I know that he finds stairs difficult, but it is of the greatest importance that I see him immediately."

Without a word, Armando ran out of the painting, and Dumbledore had nothing else to do but wait for Firenze to appear.

* * *

Thalion approached the clearing carefully, not making a sound as he sneaked towards his prey. He was many metres above the ground, and it was here that the sun broke through the thin foliage, creating one of the only patches of solid sunlight this deep into the forest. He and Legolas used to go there as elflings to play, but they were the only ones who even knew about it. It was the best place in the world to hide from their chores and duties, and they were never going to betray this secret to anybody.

Thalion leapt to the next tree, careful to be as inconspicuous as he could. His target was lying, propped up against the trunk, his eyes closed enjoying the sun. Closer and closer he slid, until his mouth was only a breath away from his goal. He took a silent breath, before shouting as loudly as he could:

"My Lord!"

Legolas opened his eyes with a start, the surprise almost making him fall off the tree. He regained his balance, before rounding on Thalion and shouting back "Do you wish for me to be dead?"

Thalion just laughed, "No," he replied with difficulty due to his hysterics "I just wished for you to fall out of this tree."

Legolas glared at him in a way that only many centuries of ruling could achieve.

"Very well," Thalion chuckled, giving way to 'the glare', "I swear that I will never try to make you fall off this particular tree ever again."

"It's not this tree I am worried about at the moment," Legolas said, seeing the humour in this situation, "Just the thousands of others there are in this forest."

"Well I shall have to use those opportunities another time. For now, however, I shall have to be content with further ruining your day." At his friend's puzzled look he added "The Mirkwood Council is today."

"Fifty years cannot have passed already!" he cried in alarm. He hated these meetings. A whole week with the leader of this and the captain of that and the lord of whatever arguing over what was to be done about the spiders or the borderlines and the suchlike. And all he was expected to do was nod sagely to all points of the argument and then give the same answer that his great-great-great grandfather would most probably have said so that the tradition would not be broken. He rarely did this of course, but that was what was supposed to happen. He was more likely to say the thing which upset the most people, and then go about and do the things the way he thought they should be done. _Personally_.

It was for this reason that he was such a good king. It was the reason that the ordinary elves of Mirkwood liked him so much. And it was the reason that Thalion had stayed such good friends with him for all this time.

"Well let us go and get ready before anyone is killed. It is amazing just how strongly some of those ministers feel about their cases."

* * *

Firenze managed the stairs, with a little difficulty, and walked into Dumbledore's office just as the headmaster was sealing a scroll with his ring.

"Ah, Firenze. It is a pleasure to see you all the way up here. I trust you have been well?"

"Very well indeed headmaster. But I do not believe that was the reason you asked me here."

"No, it isn't," Dumbledore said, trying to decide how to word what he was about to say, eventually deciding to just get straight to the point. "I was wondering if you had heard of the Firstborn."

"Of course. We meet once every five decades. They are the wisest creatures upon this earth, and it is a great honour to share their forest."

Dumbledore was astonished. This was far more than he could have hoped for. "You are in contact with them? You know where they reside? They live in the _Forbidden Forest_?"

"Indeed. We are privileged to live so close to them, though we meet rarely. They may see us, but they hide themselves well before we even know they are there."

"Do not want to take up too much of your time, and I know that I myself have much work to be done, but I was wondering if you could do my a great favour." At this he held out the letter that he had just been writing so intently, "It may be the greatest favour I have ever asked someone to do, and yet you are the only one I believe could do it."

* * *

Legolas and Thalion arrived at the meeting just as everyone was arriving. All present stood as he entered the room, something he abhorred but could do nothing about, and as he sat down and Thalion took his place a little way around the circle, he noted that all the chairs were filled, leaving only a few spaces for those who should be coming very soon.

Even as he was thinking these thoughts, he heard a quiet 'clip-clop' which gradually grew louder and louder, and eventually the cause of this noise stepped into view.

Ronan and Bane trotted into view, guarded by four elves. When the centaurs reached the circle they stood in the empty spaces and bowed to Legolas.

"Greetings, my lords," Bane started.

"May your forest be ever plentiful," Ronan finished for him

"May the stars always shine down on your futures," Legolas replied, "But where is Firenze? I do hope he has not been hurt." He did not dislike either of the two before him. He might not know them well, but they were not cruel and did not hurt any who were careful not to displease them. But even though he had only officially met the younger centaur Firenze but once, fifty years ago, he had taken an instant liking to him. Unlike his friends, he was not as prone to talking in riddles even Mithrandir would have had a hard time working out, and he did speak his mind. He was also the only one of them who had wandered far enough into Legolas' territory to find the King's secret hiding place, and he had enjoyed the occasional secret chat, even though they had talked about little of any consequence.

The centaurs looked at each other, but the only reply they would give was that he could not come.

The council went on as usual, arguments about prices by the merchants, about the amount of forest they were letting the 'mortal scum' (the centaurs flinched at this) into the forest, and then eventually, the usual enquiry as to the position of the spiders.

"As you may remember," the current Captain of the Guard Fornelen started "Just as the last council finished, there was sudden period of unusually organised attacks. These have not died out yet, and we have yet to find the cause of such an uprising. We do believe that it may have come from somewhere outside our usual patrol boundaries though."

At this point everyone turned to stare at the two centaurs. "That is your domain, is it not?" asked one of the elves, no one was quite sure which one. "Why have you not done anything about it?"

"We have not.." began Ronan in his deep, sorrowful voice.

"In fact, it has not been this unsafe to walk the forest since the last time a great evil walked the earth. Has this happened again?" said another indistinguishable voice.

"While many stars are fading, Mars grows brighter by the day."

"If you are going to insult us with not answering a simple question, then at least give us some respect by calling the stars by their proper names!" shouted another, standing and daring the half-man to challenge his authority.

Ronan reared and kicked his hooves towards the old elf, "And who are you to challenge us!" he shouted back, preparing himself to fight the whole council if he had to.

Fornelen caught Legolas' eye. They were both armed, even if in Legolas' case his weapons were concealed so as not to alarm anyone, but they could both see that things were going to get badly out of hand and between them they could probably subdue everyone. If nothing else, the sight of their king readying himself to fight them physically would stop his subjects, and then there was only Ronan and Bane to quieten down. Thalion would help of course so it should be stopped before anyone got badly hurt.

However here was actually no need for either of them to draw any weapon, for at that moment the sound of a loud canter could be heard, and a few seconds later another centaur came into view, this one white haired and frantically trying to get into the circle.

"My lord..." he began, bowing to Legolas,

"You are not welcome here, Firenze." interrupted Bane harshly. All the elves who had only seconds before been trying to attack the centaurs were now looking around confused, surprised at this sudden act of hostility not aimed towards an elf, but to one of the centaur's own kin.

"I am not under your orders any more Bane, I am under orders from the Professor. And if I need to fight you to carry out those orders, then so be it."

"He is a traitor to his kind and should not be allowed here." Bane snapped. The elf who had spoken before whispered "Where did this sudden clarity of speech come from then?", but was quickly silenced by his neighbours.

Legolas however never let his eyes move from his friend. "All are welcome to speak here." he said, waiting to here the news that was worth endangering his life for.

"My lord," he began again. "I carry with me a message from the human Professor Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school just outside this forest's borders."

Legolas nodded at this. He was, apart from the captain who had joined him for this venture, the only one who had ever ventured close enough to the school to see building, and had always wondered what it was. Now he just needed to learn what a school was. And how come there was one for wizards. Was Mithrandir to be found there?

Firenze held out what looked like a scroll and passed it to him. But before Legolas had even looked at it, Firenze muttered "I must go now. I hope that we may meet again soon." and cantered back into the depths of the forest.

With his departure came a mass of questions, many directed at the two remaining centaurs. Ronan and Bane were, not very politely, asked to leave; which they did in a hurry, leaving most of the questions to be fired at the King. Legolas waited until he had read the whole letter many times through before, when the din had finally been quietened but Fornelen, answering one single question.

"Well what in Middle Earth's name are you going to do about this?"

Legolas thought about his answer for a moment, waiting until there was not a sound in the room.

"I am going to see Professor Albus Dumbledore."

Cummon, review. You know you want to! (well I know I want you to, is that the same thing???)


	3. Thoughts I

And I'm back! To torture you by making you wait a few more months! I really am sorry about taking so long to update, but we're getting a ton of coursework at the moment, and revision for our mocks. But its almost xmas now, and as soon as i break up I should have time to update more. Really! This is a very angsty chappie and i don't really know if it works or not, so please let me know what you think so i can improve it! Next chappie will be happier though

DarkSaiph: Yes he is dead. Finite. No longer breathing. Mort. I can't think of any more words for it at the moment. Oh well. I didn't want to kill him…but he was hanging about, with nothing to do…it is crucial to the story, really! I just haven't got round to saying why yet.

Aknightofni: I like Gimli to! He is one of my fav characters! It was just necessary for the plot (wow, that sounded posh!) Thanks for the compliments, and they should meet in the next chappie.

Aislynn Crowdaughter: Wow, everyone just wants to ask me that! Just to repeat, in case anyone missed it the first couple of times – I DO like Gimli, I do NOT have a grudge against him, and it IS necessary for the plot. Sorry if I didn't make his death more clear though.

Celebwen Telcontar: See my answer for Aislynn Crowdaughter. Thanks for saying it was good at the end though!

To Artemisa, K'lara7, Hyperkitti, tina7610813, ae332003, TheWall, DarkJamAB (I think that's everyone) thank you so much for reviewing, and for everybody else out there who hasn't reviewed yet (you know who you are)

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, Harry Potter was sitting by his window, staring up at the moon. It was a cloudless night; cool, with a soft breeze sweeping past his face. 'It's a full moon tonight' he thought, almost automatically. 'I hope Professor Lupin is…' he turned away quickly, unable to think about anything connected to his late Godfather. In his mind he simply repeated the words he had been repeating to himself ever since the incident. 'Why did he have to die?'

Back at school it had been all right, with plenty of distractions and the words of Dumbledore still fresh in his mind. He had even managed to pretend to be cheerful. But now there was nothing to take his mind off of his thoughts, and take him out of his depression. Ever since his 'cheerful' farewell to everyone at the train station the Dursleys had left him alone, barely speaking to him at all. But that was fine with Harry. At least they'd stopped mentioning his Godfather, even if only saying 'Have you written to Him yet?'

Hedwig flew through the open window, dropping yet another letter onto the ever growing pile at the foot of his bed. If he had glanced at it, he would have seen the familiar scrawl of Hermione's handwriting saying 'Please read this Harry' in large letters. He had opened the first letter from Ron, full of 'sorry's and 'know just how you feel mate's, but he just didn't want to hear it anymore. Ron, Hermione, Professor Lupin, Mrs Weasley. What right did they have to think they could make him feel better? He was fed up with being controlled. Why couldn't everyone just let him leave him to make his own decisions for once? He hated them. Hated them all. Hated the whole world for taking his Godfather from him.

They had all written to him. And their carefully written letters all lay still on the floor.

* * *

Another person was looking at the moon that night. It was but a few hours after the end of the council, and it always left him feeling depressed. However this night there was something else on his mind. He was so caught up in his thoughts in fact, that he did not even hear as Thalion crept up on him.

"It is not like you to let me walk up on you like this," stated Thalion, watching Legolas jump with a smile on his face. "What is it that you are thinking of?"

Legolas did not move, apart from a slight flicker in his eyes towards a folded piece of parchment on his table.

"Ahh, you are of course thinking of our mysterious visitors earlier." Legolas still did not speak, seemed even not to have heard, and it was only when Thalion looked at him quizzically that he turned to his friend.

"I have not spoken to a single mortal in centuries. What in Middle Earth possessed me to help them fight?" he cried out suddenly.

"You speak to trees, do you not?" Thalion said with a smile on his face, trying to provoke his friend. "And the horses in your stables?"

"You know that which I speak of!" he snapped, and instantly regretted. "I am sorry my friend."

They stood in silence for a moment, listening to the sound of the breeze through the trees, Thalion replaying that short conversation in his mind. "And yet you say 'spoken'." He whispered. "Not 'seen'."

* * *

He could hear the crashes next door of Dudley playing on his video games, the rhythmical thumping whenever Dudley lost yet another game. Harry had actually been on it a couple of times recently, whenever the Dursleys went out, and sometimes when they hadn't. Dudley had been given strict instructions at the end of term not to do anything that might get on Harry's 'bad side', and so far he had managed to stick with that. He was much better than Dudley by now, but Dudley was far too scared to do anything about it. Harry was even getting quite into it. Anything to take his mind off school. His school things lay where they were dumped, in his previous home of the Cupboard Under The Stairs. His exam results were probably somewhere in the stack of letters. He just didn't care anymore.

* * *

There was an awkward silence, Thalion not sure if he had said the wrong thing, Legolas not sure how to answer.

"How do you know?"

"Do not worry," Thalion said hurriedly "no one in your court knows what you do. Only a few…select people."

"I asked how."

"Do you think that we let you go anywhere on your own?" Thalion teased, but seeing the look on Legolas' face continued hurriedly. "Well unless you have somebody hidden alongside the giant you are keeping in the forest, then I do not believe you have produced an heir yet. Therefore it is our solemn duty to keep you safe and, most of all, alive until you can find one." He said, doing a pompous bow, unable to keep the smile off his face.

Legolas returned his grin. "Your tracking skills have improved greatly if you can track me with such ease."

"Not just me. There is Fornelen. And Randin of course, but he gets everywhere." Thalion was watching Legolas' face with interest, trying to make out something…anything that would give away his true feelings. But nothing came.

"Then you will all know that I have ventured no further than the borders of the forest."

"Only because you have no need to." Thalion said, needing Legolas to admit this for himself. "I have seen the giant with which you communicate without words. And the other that has been placed into your care."

A pause. Longer this time. "He is no giant."

"No?" Thalion said with obvious surprise.

"He is just big boned."

Thalion snorted, picturing the large man in his head. "If he is 'just big boned', then I will eat Tinwen's stew." Even Legolas laughed at that, but Thalion could see that the main issue had still not been addressed fully. "You have made contact with others, yet you are still afraid to meet with them"

"If by contact you mean watching out for each other, contacting each other through the animals in the forest when something is in danger, then yes I have been in contact with them. But we have only seen each other once, when he beseeched me to watch out for his friend. And I am only doing what is in the interests of this forest." 'And for my own sake' was left unsaid, but hung in the air as if waiting to be mentioned.

"We are still going then?"

"I have already sent my reply." Legolas said decisively. "I just needed persuading that it is the right thing to do. I cannot leave them to their fate. Not when I can help." He was now much more confident, and Thalion smiled, knowing that Legolas had finally made his decision.

"You always were stubborn."

"And you cannot come."

"I know. I am still coming though."

"You are captain of the guard." Legolas said, "I need you to look after the forest for me. If I leave it to the council the Valar knows what would happen to it."

"I believe that almost as much as you do" Thalion said with a smirk on his face, "Maegwen can look after it for you. She is more than capable."

There was a pause, Thalion almost holding his breath, waiting for Legolas' next words. "I never did want to go without you."

* * *

_**Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her.**_

"_**Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.**_

_**The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.**_

_**The laughter had not quite gone from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.**_

_**Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais.**_

_**It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arc.**_

Falling. Falling. The ground dropped away. He felt hot, as if he were dropping towards the gates of hell. Hot. Burning. Beads of sweat dripping down. And then…

Harry woke up, drenched with sweat. Hedwig hooted in her cage, the door open. He was crumpled on the floor underneath the windowsill. It was just as he was remembering, and trying to forget, the events of his nightmare, that he heard a loud popping noise come from just outside his room. Then another. And another. Then he heard the not-so-quiet whisperings of: "Is he in there?" "That looks like a bit of a small room, doesn't it!" "Is he awake?" "Well he will be by now with all your grumbling." "No need to be so impatient, I was only saying!" "Can't we just go in? It's worse than bloody sardines back here." "Oh right. Sorry."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Harry? Are you decent? 'Cos if you're not, 'I'm coming in anyway." A voice called from behind the door, just before she banged it open with a crash to reveal a multicoloured Tonks. Harry quickly composed himself, and even managed to put on a fake smile, before getting up off the floor to greet her.

"Wotcha Harry." She said happily, ignoring the loud 'ouch' that came from the door slamming into somebody's nose.

"Hi Tonks." Harry said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"Now cummon. Lets pack your stuff together, and we can get to headquarters before you know it." She said brightly, picking up the odd sock with her wand and chucking it into a case. "We were really worried, with you not contacting us and all. Bloody owl post's getting so unreliable; you can't send anything without it going through Antarctica! We even went to see Dumbles to check out what he thought, but he said you probably just needed some air. At least you're al…" She faded out as she saw the great pile of letters at her feet. Her eyes clouded over with misery as she stared down, carefully avoiding Harry's eyes. "Why don't you go out to Mad-Eye. I can finish up here and bring your case round in a minute. What with me apparating, I'll get there before you do! I'm sure he can get you to Headquarters without you exploding. Although with Moody you can never tell." She said, trying desperately, and failing miserably, to pick up the lighter tone she had been using earlier.

So Harry walked out of the room. And as the door closed behind him, Tonks finished packing.

* * *

"Who else will you pick?"

"I had thought to take only a few." They both looked thoughtful now, concentrating hard on whom to choose. "If others are needed, then they can be sent for with ease. The great forest is not as large as it once was."

"Melmir will have to come. And Randin, he is the best scout in Mirkwood." Thalion praised.

"And where Melmir goes, Tinwen will have to go also."

"She would follow him to the Halls of Mandos and back if needs be."

"I am not sure she would even stop there." Legolas said, only half jokingly. "But very well. That is five of our party accounted for. We still need at least one more. The forest is not safe for an uneven number, with not everyone being protected by somebody else."

"What about Fornelen. He is a formidable warrior."

"With a grudge." Legolas grimaced. "I do not know if I could cope with his petty quarrels on this journey."

"He is better now. I swear to you."

"Very well. But he had better not take all of his weapons."

At this Thalion's brow wrinkled. "Why is that?"

"Because," Legolas said seriously, "I would really like to make a good impression on our neighbours by not shooting them all strait away."

They both burst out laughing, Thalion walking back to the entrance of the room.

"I am glad you have finally made a decision, my lord." Thalion said, doing a grossly exaggerated bow.

"If you are going to keep doing all those stupid flamboyancies, then I will leave you at home!"

"As you wish." Thalion said, backing out, and picking up his bow that he had left on the table.

"Then let us prepare. I wish to leave at dawn."

* * *

12 Grimmaud Place. Harry looked up at the building looming above him. It was even more daunting now than in his dreams. This was Sirius' house. The place he had lived in. The place where Buckbeak was laying in the attic. How could he stay here for the last two weeks of the summer holidays? He walked up to the front door in a daze, and walked strait into the hall. The gloom that once was there had disappeared, to be replaced by a bright, cheerful room, and the only reminder of last term was the great curtain covering the painting. 'Maybe this place won't be so bad' Harry thought. Tonks had already arrived, and was speaking in hushed tones to Mad-Eye Moody in the corner. Professor Lupin was behind him, trying to gently nudge Harry into the dining room, and at that moment Harry realised that he couldn't go in. He muttered a poor excuse to the werewolf, and then ran upstairs with his case to his room. He sank down onto the floor, and for the first time in weeks, he relaxed. He could not believe that he had been so scared of coming here.

It was silent in his room, and although a great deal cleaner than it had been last year, it was already littered with what looked like the entire contents of Ron's room. Every now and then he could hear the odd word, a distant shriek. In a way he regretted distancing himself from them, and yet he was still extremely wary of meeting them. To distract himself from his thoughts, which only seemed to be leading him in circles, he decided to set about unpacking his case. Crossing his legs on a bare patch of floor, he undid his case, letting the first few letters fall to the ground. Slowly, as if making an almost impossible decision, he picked the first one off the floor, opened it, and started to cry.


	4. Thoughts II

WOW I'm amazed at all this good feedback I'm getting. Keep it coming lays back and basks in wondrous praise…god I'm starting to sound sooo posh! I did have this chappie almost ready at half term, but then I got really ill (bloody flu) so I haven't been able to post it til now :-(

Thanks to random, CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur, Kata Malfoy, Slinky-and-the-BloodyWands, K'lara7, aknightofni and tina7610813 for your BRILLIANT reviews, as well as hyperkitti for beta-ing as usual! Oh, and go read our joint fic. Its under the name kattikitti. Cummon, we want reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning Harry awoke, spread out over the floor over a mass of letters, feeling strangely refreshed. He had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, reading carefully through every single letter, and strangely enough the letter from Professor McGonagall was the most comforting. As deputy headmistress, it was her duty to send their OWL results to every person individually; but alongside the dreaded list of subjects and their respective grades there was another, small piece of parchment. It was the last letter he had opened; partly because he wanted to open all the 'comfort' letters in one go, partly because he was scared he had failed everything. He was therefore surprised to receive the short letter, especially from his strict head of house.

He sat up, peeling a letter that had got stuck there off of his face, and surveyed his room. He had barely noticed it the night before, when he was guided in by someone – he didn't know who – but now that he could look at it properly, he could see that it was different from the one he was in last year. It was much larger, though that may just have been because there was only one bed in it, and the walls were all bright colours – red and yellow of course. Gryffindor colours.

But he couldn't think where he was. From what he remembered, last year all the rooms were full – that's why everyone had to share. So where did they find this one. Was it something that they had dug up since the previous summer and renovated so it was habitable? The room did look sort of familiar though – the chimney jutting out at odd angles, wiggling all across one wall and partially across another…the large cabinet that looked like it belonged to Hagrid…the large bay windows overlooking a beautiful countryside scene, even though that was an impossibility in the middle of London. He sucked in his breath when he realised what it was – Sirius' room. He felt some tears come to his eyes, and depression loomed once more…

"No." he scolded himself aloud. "I mustn't think about it."

He just had time to wipe his eyes on his sleeve, before he heard a heavy pounding below, which was getting closer and closer. Just outside the door it stopped, and he heard a series of 'shush's, followed by a 'what?' and several 'shut up's. Harry stood up, tried to kick some of the letters that were still lying all over the floor under the bed, but only succeeded in spreading them out even more, gave up, and walked silently over them up to the door. He opened it quickly, and immediately Hermione fell on top of him, revealing four others standing just outside, looking suspiciously as though they had been listening through the door.

Hermione quickly got up, straightened her clothes, and looked as though Harry was some sort of monster.

"Oh Harry I'm so so sorry its not that we were listening well I suppose we were but its not what you think it is we just wanted to make sure that you weren't asleep because we didn't want to disturb you but oh my god Harry we were so worried about you I mean you didn't write or anything I suppose it doesn't matter but still I would have preferred it if you had at least kept in touch but at least you're here now I was so worried promise you won't do anything so stupid again…" She said all in one breath, all rushed, as if Harry was going to disappear at any moment; though it was starting to sound very croaky near the end. (AN: This is actually possible. I tried. I may have needed oxygen for several more hours, but it is possible! Just imagine it without the gaps…)

"Erm…sorry?" Harry said, not quite sure if anything he said could stop her from starting up again. Luckily Ron noticed, and he interrupted before she could say anything.

"So, how was your summer, mate?" He said, looking around the room with exaggerated distain. "I know you probably haven't been out much, but did you have to mess up your room quite so quickly? It took us forever to get it ready for you. We've been working on it for weeks."

"Us?" Hermione said incredulously, her previous rant forgotten already. "We've? If I recall, you've spent most of the holiday so far in Fred and George's room."

"Its absolutely brilliant." Ron exclaimed, ignoring Hermione completely, and walking slowly into the room. "Ever since they stopped school and could…"

"Hush hush, little bro," Harry looked past Ron to see Fred, George and Ginny looking back at him. It was Fred who had just spoken.

"You don't want to give away our trade secrets." That was George.

"You never know who might be listening."

"Don't worry about these two, Harry,"

"They've been arguing all holiday,"

"We think it must be a lover's tiff" The twins both ended simultaneously, to two very loud slaps from Hermione. Ron, however, just seemed to ignore them, and whispered to Harry

"They've been trying to set us up for ages. Me and Hermione have got a bet going on how long it'll take for them to realise that we're not interested. I say two and a half years, she says three months."

"Wow."

"I know. I'm amazed Hermione thinks she's going to win like that. All my family is stubborn, those two more than most."

"I'm just amazed you got Hermione to take a bet." Harry whispered back. Ron just grinned.

* * *

Ron, the twins and Ginny made their way slowly downstairs, laughing at some joke that George was telling, Harry following at a slightly slower rate. He was smiling, nodding in all the right places, doing all the right reactions, and yet Hermione knew that he still wasn't happy.

Hermione was still standing in the doorway to Harry's room, looking down on the others as they moved out of view. She remembered her first day at school – she had been so scared of everything. She had stayed up the whole night beforehand, packing and repacking and sorting out her robes and packing again. Her parents had insisted that she couldn't take the train to Kings Cross all by herself, but had grossly overestimated the amount of time it would take to drive to the middle of London, meaning that she had to wait for ages before the train left. She was even more terrified that it had all been some huge practical joke. That she had dreamed going to Diagon Alley. That she was going to run straight into the wrong brick wall. She waited for over an hour, not daring to sit down on the suspiciously vomit-coloured bench, standing protectively over her luggage outside a grotty store of 'The Body Shop'. She watched as people staggered by – drunks, homeless people, businessmen, a group of bleary-eyed French schoolchildren. It wasn't until she saw a very strangely dressed old lady wearing an old fashioned lace-trimmed dress and a large hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, a small boy struggling with a large trunk, that she dared to move. He was carrying a large toad.

She quickly picked up her luggage and ran towards them, wishing reverently that she hadn't brought quite so many books with her, until she was close enough to hear the old lady say "When you've remembered what you've forgotten, owl me and I will send it to you."

The boy looked nervously between her and the barrier beside him, as if looking for an escape. Hermione decided to make her move.

"Are you going to Hogwarts too?" she said, surprising herself with her braveness. These were _magical people_ after all.

The old lady glared at her, as if trying to complete an inspection of something she already knew to be useless, before croaking to the boy "Come on Neville." And with that she dragged him through the barrier, and they disappeared.

Hermione blinked, barely believing it, and it was then that she saw Harry.

There he was, pushing a trolley that looked like it was twice as big as him, with a large owl. She had been vaguely aware of a loud voice shouting to him, something about there not being any platform, but all she could see was a lost looking boy, with messy hair that made her want to pet it.

'I hope he's OK,' she thought, and quickly stepped through the barrier before she lost her resolve.

It had been almost five years since that day when she first met that boy. The one whose emotions had always been open for everyone to see. The one who would confide in her, or at least Ron, with everything. The one who's smile would have half the school at his feet. The one who could NEVER keep a secret.

Why did he have to change?

* * *

Hermione was not the only person reflecting on their past. In a large forest in the heart of Scotland walked Thalion; Captain of the Guard, advisor to the King, and friend of the same. He had been walking, with his companions, since daybreak, and was enjoying the fresh air and cleanliness of a forest recently washed by rain. Since becoming Captain of the Guard he had found his duties outside grew less and less, and was more often than not imprisoned in the confines of the caves he lived in, writing reports for the king and setting duties and, less frequently, punishments. With the shrinking forest so the area the elves lived in grew smaller, and the cramped headquarters pushed home the thought that they were but unwelcome visitors in a world full of men. What he would give to be able to roam freely around the whole world, to see the sights that he remembered from his childhood – and just how much it had all changed.

And here he was, walking straight towards the land of men, not just to observe but to interact, to truly see the outside world. He remembered his childhood, glimpses of rich men from afar when the old king went on diplomatic missions, before the growing shadows in Mirkwood meant that such trips were impossible. But he had heard many tales of men from Legolas, and was looking forward to meeting some, thoughts quite obviously not shared by at least one in the group.

Fornelen, a relatively young elf, and son of one of one of Mirkwood's most prominent lords, was the one member of the group who had needed persuading in order to come. Like the rest of the company he was fair-haired, and his graceful face was marred by a glint in his eye that told of sights all prayed did not exist. When he was but an elfling his mother and two elder siblings, along with a small party, had gone on a diplomatic mission to a small village but a few leagues from the border of the forest. But it was at this time that the dark lord Sauron was just beginning to amass his army, and all strangers were considered evil. Fortunately the elves made it known that they were friends, but not before the death of his family.

He had never forgiven those men, and even though he had barely known his mother and two brothers, as they were always on missions, he still swore that the next men he saw he would kill, just as they had done to his family. It was for this reason that Legolas had protested at Thalion's choice, but Thalion did not want to believe that there was no hope for Fornelen. He truly believed that if the young elf was given a chance to meet some humans, that he might put aside his grudge against the whole race, and see that not all are as some were.

Fornelen, however, did not seem to agree. The instant he had heard of the mission's purpose he demanded that he should not go. Legolas begged him, flattered him, said that he was the only able bodied elf who was not tied down to any command and therefore was the only one who could go, and yet he would not budge. It was only when the King promised that he need not go near anyone, and could stay as a guard on the edge of the forest to warn of danger, that he agreed to go. Thalion almost laughed when he heard his friend make that promise, for he knew that there were some men who did venture into the dangerous wood. But Fornelen would have to be mad indeed to try to fight the giant who frequently entered the forest.

And however much he did not want the elf with them, there really was nobody else trustworthy and free to come. As the evil power they could all sense grew more and more of tem were becoming ill, leaving barely enough to protect the rest and carry out all the usual jobs. He had known from the start that Legolas would agree to go to the mortal's aid, not only because of his past relationships with them, but because he needed to. Before the whole of elvenkind became extinct.

* * *

Its a short chappieI know, but next time come the meetings! 


	5. Voices in the dark

I'm back! I knew I had to post another chapter before the next book comes out and this becomes totally AU -Only a few more hours to go! Unfortunately I'm actually gonna be away this weekend, so I won't be able to read it until Sunday night :-( But to everyone who's queueing at midnight - Happy Reading! 

Dadaiiro: Patience, patience! All will soon be revealed sneaky eyes

MarauderKid: Yep they are

Elf771: Thanks a lot! Yes I am going to rewrite that just to make it clearer – I'm just waiting for the time :-S 

Celebwen Telcontar: One word - WOW! That was the best review I have ever read! OK, starting with what happened to everyone, I'll be explaining some of it later on in the fic. A lot of the races got 'watered down' over many generations, ie the eagles. For the hobbits you only need to look in the recent news to see so many references to'real life hobbits', and for all we mere muggles know there could still be some hidden around somewhere. Many of the wizards crossed the seaalong with theelves, with one ortwo staying,so that in time and breeding theirabilities changed into the witches and wizardsof Harry's era. That's a brilliant comment about the Bardings and Beornings, I'd never thought of it like that before! The dwarves are still around - we might even meet some of them in this story. Numenorians: yet again a watering down of the blood, but I can assure you their descendants are still around. As for the geographical side of things, I spent forever thinking about that, and in the endI decided that the only way to move the story exactly where I wanted it to go would be to use a lot of artistic license for that bit. Sorry! Butin a way it could still be possible, if you placed Middle Earth on Pangea, the one continent that existed beforeit split into the several landmasses we know today. But I don't know enough aboutthe geography of Pangea to say if that is plausible or not.And don't worry, I'm not offended. I'm just amazed that anyone spent so much effort over something I wrote :-D. If you have any more comments please tell me - I love a challenge!

And many thanks toRandom, black as the Shadows, kirallie, Sati James, Shadowcat, Kimpatsu no Hoseki, jade, tina7610813, Ridicully L, Zammy, aknightofni, Black-Raven3, CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur for your brilliant reviews!

* * *

Legolas ­­walked merrily through the dark forest that was his home, a spring in his step. He had not been able to come through this particular part of the forest for many months, and even in that relatively minute space of time he found that he had missed it greatly. When he was a young elfling it had been his favourite part of the forest, with a small house hidden in the trees where he went to escape the torture of lessons. He had no idea to whom the house had belonged; only that they had no longer lived there, probably to move to the safety offered by the main elven halls, and that it was left for him to make his own. He did not believe even Thalion knew where it was. Only one other seemed to know the importance this area held to him.

"Halt." He said, his hand raised for emphasis.

The others gradually slowed to a stop, sensing a lack of urgency in his voice.

"But it is only a short way to the edge of the forest!" exclaimed Melmir, the youngest of the group, eagerly.

"Be glad we stop here. For beyond here lies the evil of man." said Fornelen ominously.

Melmir almost scoffed at that remark. "The only evil of man lies in your overly active imagination."

"But it is true. Have you not heard the legends of old? The stories of corruption and malice that only men can make?"

"Nothing but myths and fairy-tales. Is that not right, Legolas?"

Much to the surprise of everyone else, however, Legolas pointedly ignored this remark, merely saying "The letter I was sent told us to remain here until others could come to escort us to the castle." He then turned round to them with a smile, "I suggest you make yourselves comfortable. The letter implied we could be waiting many days."

* * *

Three days later Harry Potter stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, already eager to leave. He felt slightly better than he had but a few days previously, but that did not altogether repress the tight feeling in his stomach that he felt would never go away. He followed his friends in silence, only partially listening to their chatter and the greetings of their peers. He found himself being led into a rarely empty compartment, only coming to his senses when he heard the words "what do you think, Harry?"

He stared, momentarily startled out of his thoughts. "Um…what?"

Ron rolled his eyes, quite oblivious to Hermione's sympathetic eyes. "Come on, mate" he said exasperatedly, "It was a simple enough questi- ouch!" he stopped, rubbing his leg in pain. "Whatcha do that for, Herm?"

Hermione, however, decided to ignore him, and said in an irritatingly concerned voice, "Are you alright, Harry?"

"Of course." Said Harry, as reassuringly as he could. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've really gotta stop daydreaming so much, Harry. The teachers'll fry you, especially now we're starting our NEWTS. Fred 'n George have been telling me all the horror stories ever since the beginning of summer. Apparently if you don't pay attention all the time, and they notice, they can fail you on the spot!"

"I'm amazed you've not been expelled by now then." Harry replied "Since when have you ever listened." At this Ron grinned widely "That's the Harry we used to know and love. Well, know, anyway."

"What're you talking about, Ron?"

"Well-"

"We were just wondering who the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher would be." Interupeted Hermione, with a meaningful glare at Ron. "You got any ideas?"

* * *

As night fell for the forth time since they had arrived in the glade, Legolas was setting watch for the night and following day. They had spent their time in restless calm, being forced to wait until collection; and their time in limbo, of not knowing the happenings of anything further than half an hour's walk away, was starting to irritate even the more tolerant of them.

At last, Melmir decided to show his impatience. "How many more days must we sit in silence, forbidden from moving for fear of missing your 'friends'? If they were going to come, why are they not here already?"

"Peace, Melmir. You must have patience." Tinwen said, all too soothingly. "They will come."

"How can you talk of patience? We have been nothing but patient ever since we left the Halls." Melmir stood, unable to contain his agitation.

"I say that we should stay here."

"You would say that, would you not Fornelen." Melmir said scornfully. "Anything to keep you from the terrifying humans."

"I am scared of no man!" Fornelen stood, ready to take the challenge.

"Then why are you so anxious to avoid the mortals?" the younger elf sneered "Could it be that your hate for them would see the end of the world?"

"That is enough!" cried Thalion. "I will not see you squabble like elflings. Can you not control yourselves? The king has given his orders, will you not see that you keep to them."

But Legolas was not listening to this argument. Instead he was concentrating on a quiet rumbling, so soft he could barely hear it, but rising in volume every moment. He focused even more, trying to pick out anything he could; its direction, what it was, where it was coming from.

"My lord?"

Legolas jumped, only to see Randin standing above him, a piece of lembas in his hand.

"Ever able to sneak up on me" grinned Legolas, breaking off a piece of the elven bread.

"I try my best, my lord." He replied, before coming down to sit by the king in front of the fire. "What troubles you? You have been silent throughout their entire quarrel."

"What can you hear, Randin?" said Legolas suddenly.

The quiet elf looked straight into Legolas' eyes, trying to divine the purpose for the query, before replying, "Nothing that I would not normally hear, my lord."

"Thank you, Randin." The quiet elf looked strangely at his king for a moment, before leaving him to his thoughts.

* * *

A few hours later, and Randin was himself sitting by the fire which had long died out, leaving only the embers for him to see clearer on his watch. It was as he stood to take a final walk around the camp before he woke Tinwen for her watch, that he heard a faint whispering; "Come…come…come." He looked around, startled, but he could see no movement. All was quiet apart from the faint murmurings, "Come…come…come."

"Who is there?" he cried aloud.

The whispering grew in volume and speed, "Ash nazg durbatuluk. Ash nazg durbatuluk. Ash nazg durbatuluk!" Louder and louder it grew, until Randin thought he must go mad, until with an ear-piercing shout it stopped. All was quiet again.

"What was that?"

* * *

A dark room

A scaly hand reached out.

Click.

At the snap of his fingers, a cowering man came and stood, his back bent in a half bow, his hands placed together as if in prayer to some evil god.

"Have you got it?" The first man said, his voice sliding over every syllable. "Have you brought it to me?"

"Yes, my lord."

There was a sharp yelp, and then two more men, their clothes torn and bloody from a fight, walked slowly, almost crawling with the weight of a heavy object carried between them. They finally made it to the space in front of the chair, placed the object they were carrying down on the table with a great slam, and ran before they could be asked to do more.

"Hmmm." Said the voice, reaching out his hand again to unwrap the big parcel from its moth-eaten wrap to reveal a large, dusty tome which seemed to pulse a dark power that even He almost did not dare to touch it.

"You have done well, my servant." The dark lord said, stroking the spine, caressing the thick leather binding, soaking in the energy which was getting stronger and stronger, almost overpowering him. Finally he grasped the clasp, unlocked it with a mere flick, and opened the first deadly pages. "Very well."

For now he had the power that would assure his victory.

And no man in this world had the knowledge to stop him.


End file.
